


Warm Light

by DazzlingMagicFox



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Atem's time in the puzzle before it was solved, Fanart, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 20:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17884454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DazzlingMagicFox/pseuds/DazzlingMagicFox
Summary: It appeared in front of him. He didn’t know what it was. He hadn’t seen anything like it before. But one thing was certain.It wasn’t darkness.





	Warm Light

 

It appeared in front of him. He didn’t know what it was. He hadn’t seen something like it before. But one thing was certain.

It wasn’t darkness.

For as long as he could remember, darkness was the only thing he saw. Thick, heavy, and cold shadows that held him prisoner. They never relented no matter how hard he’d struggled. Yet the very presence of this— _whatever this is_ —made them recoil!

It filtered into his prison, forcing the shadows to shrink away from the areas it touched.

It was coming towards him.

He couldn’t move. He lost his strength a long time ago.  If this thing was so feared by the shadows, then it most likely had the power to end his pathetic existence. He closed his eyes and braced himself, silently pleading for it to be quick.

He gasped when it reached him, yet he felt no pain. In fact, it embraced him with this strange sensation significantly different from the searing cold the darkness painfully gripped him with.

_Warmth._

The word’s a complete novelty. He didn’t even know what it truly meant. Yet he felt certain that that’s what this new sensation was.

He wanted more.

He leaned forward, closer to where this warmth was emanating from. It was coming from what looked like a small sphere that stood stark against his prison. He could reach it. If only he could get closer… 

The familiar cold snaked around his ankles, the darkness trying to wretch him back; but this new presence rendered them weak. Their once strong grips were mere tugs his numb legs easily broke. He dragged himself towards this… _this_ …

“Light.”

Another new word. This time, it emerged from his lips; hoarse and barely above a whisper.  He slumped against the wall and folded his legs to avoid the slivers of darkness trying to reach for him, eyes mesmerized by this warm light.

Cupping it with both hands, he relished the warmth it emitted. It soothed away the pain and banished the cold; both of which were the only things that the darkness brought about, the only things he ever experienced under the shadows’ mercy. He let out a laugh that choked into a whimper as something he had abandoned long ago filled his mind and heart.

Hope.

Tears slid down his eyes.  “Please help me,” he whispered.

He prayed with every fiber of his being that this was not a cruel trick. That the shadows weren’t just raising his hopes only to destroy it.

…

Yugi was woken up by a soft beam of light that hit his eyes. Seeing that it came from atop his desk, he sat up.

The golden box his grandfather had just given him for his eighth birthday was glowing!

Eyes wide and his mouth slightly open in an awed gasp, he got out of bed and sat on his desk’s chair. Reaching out, he brushed a thumb against the engraving. He was surprised to feel a warm thrum from the box, even more so when it felt like it was… _calling for help._


End file.
